Itchin’ to see the Cavs? It’ll take a lot of scratch

With Cavaliers merchandise retailers working in overdrive and the online auctions going strong, Cavs fever is hitting wallets as fast as Daniel Gibson sank 3-pointers the other night. For those hoping to be one of the thousands of screaming fans cheering for the Cavs as they take on San Antonio, get out the wallets. How deep will you have to dig? Well, that depends on how well you actually want to see the game. For example, Flash Seats, the Cavaliers’ official ticket exchange, is selling a set of June 12 VIP tickets for a mere $14,999.99. And no, the 9 key did NOT get stuck on the keyboard. On eBay, bidding was rapid for tickets Monday afternoon. The most expensive tickets available on the online auction site were for Game 1 in San Antonio, but overall, it looked like the prices were better for games in Texas than those to be played in Cleveland. Floor seating for that first game in San Antonio had a starting bid of $9,850 — a price set by the seller — but there hadn’t been any takers as of Monday afternoon. By comparison, the most expensive seats for games in Cleveland were priced at a starting bid of $16,000. That’s for four floor seats for Game 3, and the seller gave a “buy it now” price — which allows the purchaser to skip the bidding process — for $33,000. A little out of range? Well, there were some bargains to be found. A bidder bested 31 other bids to claim tickets in the nosebleed section in San Antonio for $336. And the best deal to be found on eBay in Cleveland? That would be a pair of tickets for $621 in the 200 level. If you — like most of the working world — cannot afford to spend your yearly salary on tickets, you can instead deck out in Cavs gear and find a seat at a favorite sports bar. But even that will cost you. Michael Thom, director of merchandise for the Cavaliers team shop, said Cavs gear has been flying off the shelf in record numbers. On Sunday, the team shop set a record in Quicken Arena for retail sales on a non-game day. To keep up, Thom has been working with local screen printers, who spend their nights cranking out T-shirts and jerseys in hopes of keeping the shelves stocked for another day. “We’re having phenomenal days here,” Thom said. “We sold out of caps in 24 hours.” Those caps run between $26 and $30. Thom said designers have been working on new shirts to release over the course of the playoffs. One of his favorites is the LeBron achievement shirt, which will list some of the player’s most cherished accomplishments, particularly his recent 48-point game. New styles will begin coming out today and will be released throughout the week, including the Eastern Conference trophy shirt. Print shops also will increase the production of jerseys for all starting Cavs players. However, with the price tags for jerseys running from $35.99 to $84.99, some fans may want to stick with the $17 championship tee. One shopper, Bill Baumann walked out of Quicken Loans Arena with two full bags. “I bought $600 worth of T-shirts,” he said. “We’re in the finals. Wow.”

Contact Ben Norris at 329-7155 or metro@chroniclet.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Still hoping to land a seat? Fans that purchase 2007-08 season tickets will have the option to purchase two tickets to one finals home game based on availability. Tickets can be purchased by calling 800-820-CAVS. Or, there will be a very limited number of individual game tickets available to online lottery winners on cavs.com. Lottery winners wil be randomly selected on a per game basis and will receive notice of their option to purchase tickets for that specific game, along with instructions for the transaction. Full details available at cavs.com.